SESSION 1

MONDAY May 2nd, 2016 - 10 to 11am

A) JOC's Who Pass: POC In White Bodies

“White passing,” is one of many terms that are used to describe individuals who may “look white” to others, but identify as People of Color because of their ancestry and varying aspects of their experience. Join Debbie Vishnevsky as she moderates a panel of JOCs who will speak about their personal narratives and what impacts how they experience life (especially Jewish life).

This intended audience for this panel is individuals who are read as white but identify in some way as people of color. Due to the sensitive nature of the conversation - grappling with our identities while balancing our experiences and privilege, we ask that attendees be thoughtful in their choice to attend this program.

Jews of Color are impacted by both racism and anti-Semitism, which interact and affect us in complicated ways. This workshop will help JOCs identify how anti-Semitism has played out historically and in our own lives, in order to strengthen our work for racial & economic justice. Politicizing our personal experiences and histories, while building a vision for Jewish justice will help us forge our most powerful selves and communities.

There aren't many organizations that deal specifically with the topic of the acceptance and inclusion of Jews of Color in Jewish communal spaces. Leaders from the most active organizations focusing on this work sit down for a roundtable discussion, on their organizational philosophies, trends, and developments on the horizon.